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Paper
A photo of various products made from paper.
Paper products: book, toilet paper, ruled paper, carton, egg box
MaterialCellulose, often lignocellulose
Introduced105 CE, China
Manufacturer

Paper
"Paper" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese紙
Simplified Chinese纸
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinzhǐ
IPA[ʈʂɨ̀]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationjí
Jyutpingzi2
Southern Min
Hokkien POJchoá
Tâi-lôtsuá

Paper is a thin sheet of matted cellulose fibers. Largely derived from lignocellulose, paper is created from a pulp dissolved into a slurry that is drained and dried into sheets. Different types of paper are defined by constituent fiber, paper pulp, sizing, coating, paper size, paper density and grammage.

The papermaking process developed in East Asia at least as early as 105 CE by the Han court eunuch Cai Lun, although archaeological evidence exists of 2nd century BCE paper-like material in China. Before the industrialization of paper production, the most common paper was rag paper, made from discarded natural fiber textiles collected by ragpickers. The 1843 invention of wood pulp, coupled with the Second Industrial Revolution, made pulpwood paper the dominant variety to this day.[1]

Etymology

[edit]
Further information: Papyrus

The word paper is etymologically derived from Latin papyrus, which comes from the Greek πᾰ́πῡρος (pápūros), the word for the Cyperus papyrus plant.[2][3] Papyrus is a thick, paper-like material produced from the pith of the Cyperus papyrus plant, which was used in ancient Egypt and other Mediterranean cultures for writing before the introduction of paper.[4] Although the word paper is etymologically derived from papyrus, the two are separate technological developments that use different materials and production methods. Papyrus is a lamination of natural plant fibre, while paper is manufactured from fibres whose properties have been changed by maceration.[5]

History

[edit]
Main article: History of paper

Precursors

[edit]
Further information: Writing material

Paper was preceded by and coexisted with other early writing materials, such as papyrus, parchment, vellum, barkcloth, birch bark, palm leaves, and bamboo and wooden slips.

Papyrus, superficially similar to paper, has several downsides that eventually caused it to be replaced by paper: It was geographically limited to a plant primarily grown in Egypt; it was both more expensive and laborious to produce compared to paper; and it was more fragile and sensitive to moisture, making it prone to break apart in damp conditions.[6]

Invention and development

[edit]
Hemp wrapping paper, China, c. 100 BCE

The oldest known archaeological fragments of the immediate precursor to modern paper date to the 2nd century BCE in China. The pulp papermaking process is ascribed to Cai Lun, a 2nd-century CE Han court eunuch.[5][7]

In the 13th century, the knowledge and uses of paper spread from the Middle East to medieval Europe, where the first water-powered paper mills were built.[8] Because paper was introduced to the West through the city of Baghdad, it was first called bagdatikos.[9]

In the 19th century, industrialization greatly reduced the cost of manufacturing paper. In 1844, the Canadian inventor Charles Fenerty and the German inventor Friedrich Gottlob Keller independently developed processes for pulping wood fibres.[10]

Battle of Talas

[edit]
Main articles: Battle of Talas § Papermaking, and Samarkand paper § History

Popular history points to the Battle of Talas in 751 CE as when papermaking spread to the Islamic world, purporting that Tang dynasty papermakers were captured as prisoners and used to extract 'the secrets' of papermaking.[11] However, archaeological finds from 313 CE in Samarkand suggest paper's presence outside China centuries before.[12]

Papermaking

[edit]
Main article: Papermaking

Pulp

[edit]
Main article: Pulp (paper)

Pulp is a lignocellulosic mixture of isolated fibers. Traditional low-lignin pulp sources like rags and paper mulberry can be mechanically broken down; industrial pulpmaking largely makes use of pulpwood, which can be pulped chemically or mechanically.

Chemical pulping

[edit]
Main articles: Kraft process, sulfite process, and soda pulping

To make pulp from wood, a chemical pulping process separates lignin from cellulose fibre. A cooking liquor is used to dissolve the lignin, which is then washed from the cellulose; this preserves the length of the cellulose fibres. Paper made from chemical pulps are also known as wood-free papers (not to be confused with tree-free paper); this is because they do not contain lignin, which deteriorates over time. The pulp can also be bleached to produce white paper, but this consumes 5% of the fibres. Chemical pulping processes are not used to make paper made from cotton, which is already 90% cellulose.

The microscopic structure of paper: Micrograph of tissue paper autofluorescing under ultraviolet illumination. The individual fibres in this sample are around 10 μm in diameter.

There are three main chemical pulping processes: the sulfite process dates back to the 1840s and was the dominant method before the second world war. The kraft process, invented in the 1870s and first used in the 1890s, is now the most commonly practised strategy; one of its advantages is the chemical reaction with lignin produces heat, which can be used to run a generator. Most pulping operations using the kraft process are net contributors to the electricity grid or use the electricity to run an adjacent paper mill. Another advantage is that this process recovers and reuses all inorganic chemical reagents. Soda pulping is another specialty process used to pulp straws, bagasse and hardwoods with high silicate content.

Mechanical pulping

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There are two major mechanical pulps: thermomechanical pulp (TMP) and groundwood pulp (GW). In the TMP process, wood is chipped and then fed into steam-heated refiners, where the chips are squeezed and converted to fibres between two steel discs. In the groundwood process, debarked logs are fed into grinders where they are pressed against rotating stones to be made into fibres. Mechanical pulping does not remove the lignin, so the yield is very high, > 95%; however, lignin causes the paper thus produced to turn yellow and become brittle over time. Mechanical pulps have rather short fibres, thus producing weak paper. Although large amounts of electrical energy are required to produce mechanical pulp, it costs less than the chemical kind.

Recycling and de-inked pulp

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A process for removing printing inks from recycled paper was invented by German jurist Justus Claproth in 1774. Today this method is called deinking.[1]

Paper recycling processes can use either chemically or mechanically produced pulp; by mixing it with water and applying mechanical action the hydrogen bonds in the paper can be broken and fibres separated again. Most recycled paper contains a proportion of virgin fibre for the sake of quality; generally speaking, de-inked pulp is of the same quality or lower than the collected paper it was made from.

There are three main classifications of recycled fibre:

  • Mill broke or internal mill waste – This incorporates any substandard or grade-change paper made within the paper mill itself, which then goes back into the manufacturing system to be re-pulped back into paper. Such out-of-specification paper is not sold and is therefore often not classified as genuine reclaimed recycled fibre; however most paper mills have been reusing their own waste fibre for many years, long before recycling became popular.
  • Preconsumer waste – This is offcut and processing waste, such as guillotine trims and envelope blank waste; it is generated outside the paper mill and could potentially go to landfill, and is a genuine recycled fibre source; it includes de-inked preconsumer waste (recycled material that has been printed but did not reach its intended end use, such as waste from printers and unsold publications).[13]
  • Postconsumer waste – This is fibre from paper that has been used for its intended end use and includes office waste, magazine papers and newsprint. As the vast majority of this material has been printed – either digitally or by more conventional means such as lithography or rotogravure – it will either be recycled as printed paper or go through a de-inking process first.

Recycled papers can be made from 100% recycled materials or blended with virgin pulp, although they are (generally) not as strong nor as bright as papers made from the latter.

Producing paper

[edit]
Main articles: Paper machine and papermaking
Paper mill in Mänttä-Vilppula, Finland

The pulp is fed to a paper machine, where it is formed as a paper web and the water is removed from it by pressing and drying.

Pressing the sheet removes the water by force. Once the water is forced from the sheet, a special kind of felt, which is not to be confused with the traditional one, is used to collect the water. When making paper by hand, a blotter sheet is used instead.

Drying involves using air or heat to remove water from the paper sheets. In the earliest days of papermaking, this was done by hanging the sheets like laundry; in more modern times, various forms of heated drying mechanisms are used. On the paper machine, the most common is the steam-heated can dryer. These can reach temperatures above 93 °C (200 °F) and are used in long sequences of more than forty cans where the heat produced by these can easily dry the paper to less than six percent moisture.

Paper grain

[edit]

All paper produced by paper machines such as the Fourdrinier machine are wove paper, i.e. the wire mesh that transports the web leaves a pattern that has the same density along the paper grain and across the grain. Textured finishes, watermarks and wire patterns imitating hand-made laid paper can be created by the use of appropriate rollers in the later stages of the machine.

Wove paper does not exhibit "laidlines", which are small regular lines left behind on paper when it was handmade in a deckle mould made from rows of metal wires or bamboo. Laidlines are very close together. They run perpendicular to the "chainlines", which are further apart. Handmade paper similarly exhibits "deckle edges", or rough and feathery borders.[14]

Sizing and finishing

[edit]
Further information: Sizing and Coated paper
Lower quality paper (used to print the book in 1991) with visible bits of wood

Papers may have their surfaces polished by calendering or burnishing. Paper can be further processed into coated paper by sizing the paper with a thin layer of material such as calcium carbonate or kaolin, applied to one or both sides. This treatment manipulates the final feel of the paper, which improve its characteristics for specific purposes, such as avoiding ink running on printer paper.[15][16]

The paper is then fed onto reels if it is to be used on web printing presses, or cut into sheets for other printing processes or other purposes. Sheets are usually cut "long-grain", i.e. with the grain parallel to the longer dimension of the sheet. Continuous form paper (or continuous stationery) is cut to width with holes punched at the edges, and folded into stacks.[citation needed]

Applications

[edit]
Further information: List of paper products and Category:Paper products
Paper money from different countries

It is estimated that paper-based storage solutions captured 0.33% of the total in 1986 and only 0.007% in 2007, even though in absolute terms the world's capacity to store information on paper increased from 8.7 to 19.4 petabytes.[17] It is estimated that in 1986 paper-based postal letters represented less than 0.05% of the world's telecommunication capacity, with sharply decreasing tendency after the massive introduction of digital technologies.[17]

Paper has a major role in the visual arts. It is used by itself to form two- and three-dimensional shapes and collages.[18][19] It has also evolved to being a structural material used in furniture design.[20] Watercolor paper has a long history of production and use.

Types, thickness and weight

[edit]
Main articles: Paper size, Grammage, and Paper density
Card and paper stock for crafts use comes in a wide variety of textures and colors.

The thickness of paper is often measured by caliper, which is typically given in thousandths of an inch in the United States and in micrometres (μm) in the rest of the world.[21] Paper may be between 0.07 and 0.18 millimetres (0.0028 and 0.0071 in) thick.[22]

Paper is often characterized by weight. In the United States, the weight is the weight of a ream (bundle of 500 sheets) of varying "basic sizes" before the paper is cut into the size it is sold to end customers. For example, a ream of 20 lb, 8.5 in × 11 in (216 mm × 279 mm) paper weighs 5 pounds because it has been cut from larger sheets into four pieces.[23] In the United States, printing paper is generally 20 lb, 24 lb, 28 lb, or 32 lb at most. Cover stock is generally 68 lb, and 110 lb or more is considered card stock.

In Europe and other regions using the ISO 216 paper-sizing system, the weight is expressed in grams per square metre (g/m2 or usually gsm) of the paper. Printing paper is generally between 60 gsm and 120 gsm. Anything heavier than 160 gsm is considered card. The weight of a ream therefore depends on the dimensions of the paper and its thickness.

Most commercial paper sold in North America is cut to standard paper sizes based on customary units and is defined by the length and width of a sheet of paper.

The ISO 216 system used in most other countries is based on the surface area of a sheet of paper, not on a sheet's width and length. It was first adopted in Germany in 1922 and generally spread as nations adopted the metric system. The largest standard size paper is A0 (A zero), measuring one square metre (approx. 1189 × 841 mm). A1 is half the size of a sheet of A0 (i.e., 594 mm × 841 mm), such that two sheets of A1 placed side by side are equal to one sheet of A0. A2 is half the size of a sheet of A1, and so forth. Common sizes used in the office and the home are A4 and A3 (A3 is the size of two A4 sheets).

The density of paper ranges from 250 kg/m3 (16 lb/cu ft) for tissue paper to 1500 kg/m3 (94 lb/cu ft) for some specialty paper. Printing paper is about 800 kg/m3 (50 lb/cu ft).[24]

Types of paper

[edit]
Main article: List of types of paper

Paper may be classified into seven categories:[25]

  • Printing papers of wide variety.
  • Wrapping papers for the protection of goods and merchandise. This includes wax and kraft papers.
  • Writing paper suitable for stationery requirements. This includes ledger, bank, and bond paper.
  • Blotting papers containing little or no size.
  • Drawing papers usually with rough surfaces used by artists and designers, including cartridge paper.
  • Handmade papers including most decorative papers, Ingres papers, Japanese paper and tissues, all characterized by lack of grain direction.
  • Specialty papers including cigarette paper, toilet tissue, and other industrial papers.

Environmental impact

[edit]
Main articles: Environmental impact of paper and Deforestation

The production and use of paper has a number of adverse effects on the environment.

Worldwide consumption of paper has risen by 400% in the past 40 years[clarification needed] leading to increase in deforestation, with 35% of harvested trees being used for paper manufacture. Most paper companies also plant trees to help regrow forests. Logging of old growth forests accounts for less than 10% of wood pulp,[26] but is one of the most controversial issues.

Paper waste accounts for up to 40% of total waste produced in the United States each year, which adds up to 71.6 million tons of paper waste per year in the United States alone.[27] The average office worker in the US prints 31 pages every day.[28] Americans also use in the order of 16 billion paper cups per year.

Conventional bleaching of wood pulp using elemental chlorine produces and releases into the environment large amounts of chlorinated organic compounds, including chlorinated dioxins.[29] Dioxins are recognized as a persistent environmental pollutant, regulated internationally by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. Dioxins are highly toxic, and health effects on humans include reproductive, developmental, immune and hormonal problems. They are known to be carcinogenic. Over 90% of human exposure is through food, primarily meat, dairy, fish and shellfish, as dioxins accumulate in the food chain in the fatty tissue of animals.[30]

The paper pulp and print industries emitted together about 1% of world greenhouse-gas emissions in 2010[31] and about 0.9% in 2012.[32]

Current production and use

[edit]

In the 2022−2024 edition of the annual "Pulp and paper capacites survey", the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reports that Asia has superseded North America as the top pulp- and paper-producing continent.[33]

FAO figures for 2021 show the production of graphic papers continuing its decline from a mid-2000s peak to hover below 100 million tonnes a year. By contrast, the production of other papers and paperboard – which includes cardboard and sanitary products – has continued to soar, exceeding 320 million tonnes.[33]

FAO has documented the expanding production of cardboard in paper and paperboard, which has been increasing in response to the spread of e-commerce since the 2010s.[33] Data from FAO suggest that it has been even further boosted by COVID-19-related lockdowns.[34]

See also

[edit]

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Göttsching, Lothar; Gullichsen, Johan; Pakarinen, Heikki; Paulapuro, Hannu; Yhdistys, Suomen Paperi-Insinöörien; Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (2000). Recycling fiber and deinking. Finland: Fapet Oy. pp. 12–14. ISBN 978-952-5216-07-3. OCLC 247670296.
  2. ^ πάπυρος Archived 16 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek–English Lexicon, on Perseus
  3. ^ "papyrus". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020.
  4. ^ "papyrus". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
  5. ^ a b Tsien 1985, p. 38
  6. ^ Monro 2016, p. 20-23, 34, 210.
  7. ^ Hogben, Lancelot. "Printing, Paper and Playing Cards". Bennett, Paul A. (ed.) Books and Printing: A Treasury for Typophiles. New York: The World Publishing Company, 1951. pp. 15–31. p. 17. & Mann, George. Print: A Manual for Librarians and Students Describing in Detail the History, Methods, and Applications of Printing and Paper Making. London: Grafton & Co., 1952. p. 77
  8. ^ Burns 1996, pp. 417f.
  9. ^ Murray, Stuart A. P. The Library: An illustrated History. Skyhorse Publishing, 2009, p. 57.
  10. ^ Burger, Peter (2007). Charles Fenerty and his paper invention. Toronto: Peter Burger. pp. 25–30. ISBN 978-0-9783318-1-8. OCLC 173248586. Archived from the original on 19 April 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  11. ^ Ward, James (2015). The Perfection of the Paper Clip: Curious Tales of Invention, Accidental Genius, and Stationery Obsession. Atria Books. ISBN 978-1476799865.
  12. ^ Bloom, Jonathan M. (December 2005), "Silk Road or Paper Road?" (PDF), The Silk Road, vol. 3, no. 2, American University, pp. 21–26, retrieved 3 September 2025
  13. ^ "Natural Resource Defense Council". Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2008.
  14. ^ "ARCHIVED – Introduction – Detecting the Truth. Fakes, Forgeries and Trickery – Library and Archives Canada" Archived 2 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine in a virtual museum exhibition at Library and Archives Canada
  15. ^ Appropriate Technology. Intermediate Technology Publications. 1996.
  16. ^ Thorn, Ian; Au, Che On (24 July 2009). Applications of Wet-End Paper Chemistry. Springer Science & Business Media. Bibcode:2009aowp.book.....T. ISBN 978-1-4020-6038-0.
  17. ^ a b "The World's Technological Capacity to Store, Communicate, and Compute Information" Archived 12 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine, especially Supporting online material Archived 18 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Martin Hilbert and Priscila López (2011), Science, 332(6025), 60–65; free access to the article through here: martinhilbert.net/WorldInfoCapacity.html doi:10.1126/science.1200970
  18. ^ "Lynette Schweigert". NEA. 5 November 2015. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  19. ^ "Herminia Albarrán Romero". NEA. 24 January 2013. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  20. ^ Morris (August–September 2018). "Material Values, Paper". The Economist. p. 38.
  21. ^ "Paper Thickness (Caliper) Chart". Case Paper. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  22. ^ Elert, Glenn. "Thickness of a Piece of Paper". The Physics Factbook. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  23. ^ McKenzie, Bruce G. (1989). The Hammerhill guide to desktop publishing in business. Hammerhill. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-9615651-1-4. OCLC 851074844.
  24. ^ "Density of paper and paperboard". PaperOnWeb. Archived from the original on 19 October 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2007.
  25. ^ Johnson, Arthur (1978). The Thames and Hudson manual of bookbinding. London: Thames and Hudson. OCLC 959020143.
  26. ^ Martin, Sam (2004). "Paper Chase". Ecology Communications, Inc. Archived from the original on 19 June 2007. Retrieved 21 September 2007.
  27. ^ EPA (28 June 2006). "General Overview of What's in America's Trash". United States Environmental Protection Agency. Archived from the original on 5 January 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  28. ^ Groll, T. 2015 In vielen Büros wird unnötig viel ausgedruckt Archived 17 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Zeit Online, 20 June 2015.
  29. ^ Effluents from Pulp Mills using Bleaching – PSL1. Health Canada DSS. 1991. ISBN 978-0-662-18734-9. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2007. Pdf Archived 12 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  30. ^ "Dioxins and their effects on human health". World Health Organization. June 2014. Archived from the original on 27 April 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2015. More than 90% of human exposure is through food
  31. ^ "World GHG Emissions Flow Chart 2010" (PDF). Ecofys. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  32. ^ "World GHG Emissions 2012". SANKEY DIAGRAMS. Ecofys. 22 February 2019. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  33. ^ a b c Sustainability by numbers: Forest products at FAO. Rome: FAO. 2023. doi:10.4060/cc7561en.
  34. ^ "COVID-19 leads to changes in paper and paperboard production". www.fao.org. 3 September 2021. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.

General references

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Further reading

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Paper

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia

Paper is a thin sheet material manufactured from cellulose fibers derived primarily from wood pulp or other lignocellulosic sources such as , , or wheat straw, formed by suspending the fibers in , depositing them on a screen, and drying to create a cohesive . This process yields a versatile substrate essential for writing, , , and hygiene applications, with global production exceeding 400 million tonnes annually as of recent estimates. Invented in around 105 CE by court official , who reportedly utilized mulberry bark, , and rags to produce sheets superior to prior writing materials like or , paper revolutionized information dissemination and in ancient societies. Its spread via the to the Islamic world by the 8th century and to by the 11th century facilitated the rise of technologies, including Gutenberg's press in the 15th century, amplifying and knowledge transfer despite initial resistance from parchment-based traditions. Modern production mechanized in the 19th century via the Fourdrinier machine, scales output through pulping raw materials, refining, forming wet sheets, pressing to remove water, and drying, often incorporating recycled fibers to mitigate resource demands. Paper's defining characteristics include high recyclability—achieving rates of 60-64% for paper and 69-74% for in recent U.S. data—yet its manufacture consumes substantial (4% of global industrial total) and water, while contributing to if unmanaged, though sustainable and treatments have reduced per-ton impacts over decades. constitutes about 65% of output, underscoring paper's role in over graphic papers amid digital shifts, with ongoing innovations in sourcing and addressing environmental critiques rooted in empirical lifecycle assessments rather than unsubstantiated alarmism.

History

Invention and Early Development in China

![Chinese hemp paper from Western Han][float-right] The earliest archaeological evidence of paper in China consists of hemp fiber fragments discovered in tombs from the Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE), with dated specimens from circa 179 BCE at Fangmatan and around 100 BCE elsewhere. These primitive sheets, formed by suspending hemp waste in water, washing, soaking, and beating into pulp, were initially used for wrapping and padding rather than writing, reflecting rudimentary papermaking techniques driven by the need for affordable alternatives to silk and bamboo slips. In 105 CE, during the Eastern , court official is historically credited with refining papermaking into a more efficient process, though earlier forms predated his work. His method involved macerating mulberry bark, hemp rags, old fishing nets, and tree bark; boiling the mixture to soften fibers; pounding it into pulp; and spreading it thinly on screens to dry into uniform sheets. This innovation enabled scalable production for imperial use, earning imperial endorsement and Cai Lun's promotion, while addressing the limitations of scarce and expensive writing materials amid growing bureaucratic demands. Early paper quality varied, starting coarse and hemp-based, but improved by the end of the Han period (220 CE) through experimentation with diverse fibers like , yielding smoother surfaces suitable for . By the 3rd century CE, paper had transitioned to widespread writing and book production, supplanting and in official records and texts, facilitated by its lightweight, portable nature and compatibility with brush-and- systems. Archaeological finds, such as hemp paper remnants on artifacts, confirm ongoing refinements in fiber processing and sheet formation during this era.

Spread to the Islamic World and Europe

Paper technology reached the Islamic world in the mid-8th century, primarily through the capture of Chinese artisans during the in 751 CE, where Abbasid forces defeated a army near the Talas River in . These prisoners, including papermakers, reportedly transmitted the knowledge of to Muslim engineers in , establishing the first paper production centers in the region shortly thereafter. Although some historians debate the extent of direct technological transfer from Talas prisoners versus gradual diffusion via trade, archaeological and textual evidence confirms rapid adoption, with paper supplanting for administrative and scholarly uses due to its lower cost and scalability. By 794 CE, the Abbasid caliph commissioned the construction of the first dedicated in , transforming from a manual craft into an organized industry using water-powered machinery for pulping and . 's paper production flourished, supporting the House of Wisdom's efforts and creating a specialized papersellers' market with over 100 shops by the mid-; innovations included rag-based recipes from and , yielding durable sheets superior to Chinese mulberry variants for retention. The technology proliferated westward to and by the late and to and al-Andalus by the 10th century, where mills in Fez and Cordoba integrated local fibers, fostering administrative efficiency in vast caliphal bureaucracies. Transmission to occurred via Muslim-controlled territories in the 11th and 12th centuries, with the first European paper mills appearing in Islamic , notably at around 1056 CE, utilizing techniques refined by Arab artisans who adapted water wheels for hydraulic stamping. spread to under Norman rule by the late 11th century and to Christian-held Toledo after its 1085 reconquest, where manuscripts on paper introduced the medium to Latin scholars, though initial adoption was slow due to parchment's prestige and suspicions of Muslim-originated goods. By the 13th century, Italian city-states like Fabriano established mills, incorporating gelatin sizing for smoother writing surfaces, which accelerated paper's integration into European notarial and precursors, displacing by the amid rising literacy demands.

Industrial Revolution and Mechanization

Mechanization of paper production began in the late 18th century, transitioning from labor-intensive handcrafting to machine-based processes driven by the demands of expanding print media and industrialization. In 1798, French engineer Louis-Nicolas Robert invented the first papermaking machine capable of producing a continuous sheet, patented the following year, which marked a pivotal shift toward automation by using a moving wire mesh to form paper from pulp slurry. This innovation addressed the limitations of traditional vat molding, where sheets were formed individually by hand, restricting output to mere hundreds per day per worker. The machine's refinement occurred in , where brothers Henry and Sealy Fourdrinier, in collaboration with Bryan Donkin, developed an improved version based on Robert's design, with the first operational Fourdrinier machine installed at Frogmore Mill in in 1803. Patented in 1806, this apparatus produced continuous rolls of paper up to 40 inches wide, powered initially by engines, enabling production rates far exceeding manual methods—by , machine-made paper surpassed hand-made quantities in volume, drastically reducing costs and facilitating mass of newspapers and . These machines incorporated drying cylinders and pressing mechanisms, standardizing paper quality while scaling output to tons per day, though early adoption was hampered by high capital costs and technical unreliability. Parallel advancements addressed raw material constraints, as reliance on and rags—sorted and pulped via Hollander beaters introduced in the 1680s—could not sustain growing demand. In the mid-19th century, mechanical wood pulping emerged, with German inventor Friedrich Gottlob Keller patenting a groundwood process in 1843, followed by chemical methods like soda pulping in the 1850s, allowing abundant timber to replace scarce rags and enabling cheaper, higher-volume production despite initial concerns over durability. By the 1860s, wood-pulp paper became viable commercially, and by 1890, most mills had converted as rag supplies dwindled, transforming paper from a luxury to a ubiquitous integral to industrialized economies. This shift, while enabling expansion, introduced quality trade-offs, as wood-based papers were more prone to acidification and degradation compared to rag variants.

Twentieth-Century Advancements

The , a chemical pulping method using and , achieved widespread adoption in the paper industry during the early twentieth century, supplanting earlier processes for producing strong, versatile pulp suitable for , linerboard, and sack paper. This shift enabled higher pulp yields—up to 50% from wood—and facilitated chemical recovery through black liquor evaporation and combustion in recovery boilers, reducing operational costs and raw material demands. By the 1930s, kraft mills proliferated in and , supporting the growth of corrugated , which replaced wooden crates for shipping; U.S. kraft production capacity exceeded 1 million tons annually by 1940. Paper machine technology advanced markedly, with forming sections evolving from traditional Fourdrinier designs to multi-ply and twin-wire formers, allowing speeds to increase from around 200-300 meters per minute in the 1920s to over 600 meters per minute by the 1960s and approaching 1,000 meters per minute by the 1990s. These improvements, driven by hydrodynamic research into fiber suspension and , enhanced uniformity, reduced basis weight variability, and boosted output; for instance, machine widths expanded to 8-10 meters, enabling annual productions exceeding 300,000 tons per unit. via sectional electric drives and control systems further optimized drying and calendering, minimizing defects like web breaks. Bleaching sequences progressed from single-stage chlorine treatments in the early 1900s to multi-stage elemental chlorine processes by mid-century, achieving pulp brightness levels above 80 ISO through sequential hypochlorite, chlorination, and extraction stages, though these generated chlorinated byproducts. The 1950s introduction of alkaline sizing and the shift toward acid-free papermaking—using calcium carbonate fillers and avoiding acidic alum-rosin—produced permanent papers with pH above 7, mitigating hydrolysis and oxidation that caused embrittlement in earlier wood-pulp sheets; by the 1980s, such papers became standard for books and records, extending archival life from decades to centuries. Recycling technologies matured, with de-inking via flotation and enzymatic treatments enabling higher secondary fiber incorporation; U.S. mills like Fort Howard pioneered closed-loop systems in the 1920s-1940s, recovering inks and fibers for tissue and grades, reducing virgin pulp reliance amid post-World War II demand surges. Coated papers, incorporating pigments like kaolin and binders, emerged for high-quality , supporting offset lithography's rise; global paper consumption quadrupled from 10 million tons in 1900 to over 100 million tons by 1990, driven by newsprint, products, and innovations.

Etymology

Linguistic Origins

The English noun paper, denoting a thin sheet material made from fibers for writing or printing, first appears in records around 1341–1342 CE, borrowed from paper or Anglo-Norman variants, which trace directly to Latin papyrus. This Latin term referred initially to the pith of the plant and the laminated writing sheets produced from it in , a material distinct from true paper in its non-fibrous, glued construction. Latin papyrus entered the language as a borrowing from papyros (πάπυρος), attested by the 5th century BCE, naming both the aquatic sedge plant native to the and the rudimentary "paper" derived from its stems. The Greek form is widely regarded as a non-Indo-European , likely originating from an Egyptian substrate language—possibly Coptic or earlier Afro-Asiatic roots related to the plant's local nomenclature—though its precise pre-Greek pathway remains uncertain due to limited comparative linguistic evidence. This borrowing pattern exemplifies how Mediterranean trade and cultural exchange propagated terminology for writing supports, with papyros supplanting earlier Greek references to materials like palm leaves or hides. The persistence of papyrus-derived terms across (e.g., Italian carta, diverging via Latin charta for other sheets, but retaining papyrus influences in compounds) underscores a Eurocentric linguistic , despite true papermaking's independent in circa 105 CE using mulberry bark and rags—a process unknown in the West until the 8th century CE, after which Arabic waraq ("leaf") competed but did not supplant the established root in European lexicon. Semantic extension from papyrus to modern paper occurred gradually in medieval , as imported Chinese-style sheets adopted the familiar for continuity in scribal traditions, rather than coining anew from eastern sources. The English term "paper" entered the language around 1300 CE, borrowed from Anglo-French paper and papier, ultimately tracing to Latin papyrus, denoting the ancient Egyptian writing material derived from the plant rather than the rag-based sheets invented in circa 105 CE. This linguistic continuity arose because European adopters, encountering the Chinese innovation via Islamic intermediaries in the , repurposed the familiar papyrus root for its functional similarity as a thin, portable writing substrate, despite fundamental differences in production—papyrus being a laminated reed sheet versus pulped fibers. As disseminated westward, terminology diverged regionally while retaining Indo-European roots tied to earlier substrates. In , the material was termed kāghaz (from kagad, possibly influenced by Chinese ji or kāgaj meaning "bodhi tree bark"), distinguishing it from qirṭās (from Greek chartēs, for papyrus-derived sheets); this kāghaz influenced Turkic and Persian variants but yielded to Latin-derived forms in . Spanish papel and papel evolved directly from Latin papyrus via medieval adoption around the 13th century, while Italian shifted to carta from Latin charta (Greek chartēs, originally "layer of "), reflecting parchment-era usage that persisted post-paper's arrival. In contrast, Chinese zhǐ (纸), unrelated etymologically and denoting "fine " or fibrous material in ancient texts, emphasized the invention's indigenous mulberry bark origins without Western substrate connotations. By the late medieval period, "paper" in English expanded semantically beyond writing sheets to encompass derivatives like "" (1590s, for decorative coverings) and "" (1640s, for printed periodicals), mirroring technological shifts from handmade rag paper to mechanized production. Terms for specialized variants, such as "" (coined 1884 amid hygiene commercialization) and "" (1860s for duplication), emerged with 19th-century industrialization, while "pulp" (from Latin pulpa, "fleshy substance") gained traction post-1840s wood-pulping innovations, supplanting rag-centric lexicon in industrial contexts. These evolutions underscored a transition from artisanal, substrate-specific to generic, process-oriented terms, unmoored from ancient plant associations yet retaining the core legacy in Western usage.

Raw Materials

Primary Fiber Sources

The primary fiber sources for paper production consist predominantly of virgin cellulose fibers extracted from trees, which form the basis of mechanical, chemical, and semi-chemical pulps used in manufacturing. Wood pulp, derived from both softwood and hardwood species, supplies the bulk of these fibers globally, enabling the production of papers with varying strength, density, and surface properties. Softwoods, such as pines (Pinus spp.), spruces (Picea spp.), and firs (Abies spp.), yield long fibers averaging 3–4 mm in length, which enhance tensile strength and are essential for applications requiring durability, like newsprint and packaging. In contrast, hardwoods including eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.), birches (Betula spp.), and poplars (Populus spp.) produce shorter fibers (1–2 mm), contributing to smoother textures, higher opacity, and better printability in products such as writing paper and tissues. Softwoods dominate in regions with coniferous forests, comprising about 85% of fiber input for U.S. paper production due to their prevalence and fiber length advantages. Globally, wood-based virgin pulp production reached approximately 180 million metric tons annually as of recent estimates, far outpacing other sources and matching the scale of paper output requirements. Hardwoods, often fast-growing in plantations, are increasingly utilized in tropical and subtropical areas for cost efficiency, with like enabling high-yield pulping yields of up to 50% fiber recovery. These distinctions arise from inherent anatomy: softwoods have fewer vessels and more uniform tracheids, while hardwoods feature libriform fibers and vessels that influence pulp processing efficiency. Other virgin fibers, such as linters—the short fibers adhering to after ginning—serve as premium sources for high-alpha pulps (over 95% purity), used in specialty papers like and filters due to superior brightness and strength retention. However, linters represent a minor fraction globally, limited by agricultural output and higher costs compared to . Non-wood fibers like or , while viable for localized production, constitute less than 10% of total virgin pulp, constrained by processing challenges such as higher silica content that accelerates equipment wear. Overall, remains the cornerstone, with sustainable sourcing from managed forests mitigating depletion risks through replanting rates exceeding harvest in major producing regions.

Alternative and Sustainable Fibers

Non-wood fibers serve as alternatives to traditional pulp in , sourced from bast plants, grasses, and agricultural residues, offering potential sustainability advantages through faster growth rates and reduced reliance on forest resources. These fibers include , , , , , reeds, from , and from or , which collectively account for approximately 8% of global pulp production. Non-wood pulping processes generally require less than wood pulping, contributing to lower environmental impacts in terms of energy consumption, though challenges such as higher silica content can increase equipment wear and processing costs. Hemp (Cannabis sativa) fibers, historically used in Chinese papermaking as early as the Western Han dynasty (circa 100 BCE), contain up to 77% cellulose and yield about four times more fiber per acre than trees due to the plant's rapid 3-4 month growth cycle and minimal water needs compared to cotton or trees. Modern assessments indicate hemp pulp produces stronger, more durable paper with fewer chemicals required for bleaching, but adoption remains limited to specialty papers like cigarette and bible stock owing to higher costs and regulatory hurdles for cultivation in regions like the United States and Europe. Flax (Linum usitatissimum), another bast fiber, shares similar high-strength properties and is used in up to 100% non-wood compositions for fine papers, though its higher price restricts broader use. Grasses such as and provide renewable alternatives, with bamboo species maturing in 3-5 years versus 20-50 years for trees, enabling higher annual yields in tropical regions. ( cannabinus), an annual hibiscus relative, yields pulp comparable to with lower content, facilitating easier processing; trials in the 1990s demonstrated its viability for newsprint and , though scalability is constrained by inconsistent supply chains. Agricultural residues like and wheat leverage waste from food production, diverting millions of tons annually from burning in countries like and ; pulp, for instance, exhibits good brightness and strength for board and tissue, reducing disposal emissions while utilizing byproducts from over 1.6 billion tons of produced globally each year. Recycled fibers from post-consumer waste represent a key sustainable option, comprising over 50% of input in many integrated mills by 2023, conserving resources by avoiding virgin extraction and lowering and demands by up to 40-60% compared to . Despite these benefits, alternative fibers often face barriers including variable morphology leading to inconsistent paper quality and the need for adapted machinery, as evidenced by correlations between non-wood dimensions and pulp properties in studies of 22 species. Overall, while promising for reducing —responsible for 13 million hectares lost annually, partly to pulp—widespread adoption depends on technological advancements and economic viability.

Manufacturing Process

Pulping Techniques

Pulping techniques convert lignocellulosic raw materials, primarily wood chips, into a fibrous suitable for by separating fibers from and other non-fibrous components. The process aims to maximize yield while minimizing impurities that affect paper quality, with mechanical methods relying on physical defibration and chemical methods using to dissolve . Mechanical pulping achieves high yields of 90-95% but produces pulp with retained , resulting in lower strength and faster yellowing, ideal for newsprint and tissues. Chemical pulping yields 40-55% but delivers stronger, more durable fibers for and papers. Mechanical pulping employs grinding or refining to fibrillate wood without chemical aids, preserving most of the wood's mass including for opacity but compromising permanence. Stone groundwood (SGW) involves pressing debarked logs against a rotating under water, a method dating to the that yields coarse fibers for low-grade papers. Refiner mechanical pulp (RMP) and thermomechanical pulp (TMP) use disc refiners to process chips, with TMP applying steam pretreatment at 100-130°C to soften and reduce energy use by up to 70% compared to RMP, achieving yields around 95% for high-bulk products like magazines. These processes consume significant —up to 2-4 MWh per air-dried —and generate with high . Chemical pulping digests wood chips in heated to selectively remove 80-90% of , producing purer but requiring recovery systems for . The kraft (sulfate) process, dominant since the early and accounting for over 80% of global chemical pulp production, cooks chips at 160-170°C under 7-10 bar pressure in containing (15-20%) and (20-30%), yielding strong fibers via alkaline delignification that retains hemicelluloses for bonding. byproduct, rich in organics, is recovered via and to regenerate chemicals, though it emits reduced sulfur compounds causing odor. The sulfite process, predating kraft and using bisulfite ions (from SO2 dissolved in bases like calcium or ) at pH 1-5 and 130-160°C, excels in dissolving for brighter pulps suitable for writing papers but produces weaker fibers and spent liquor high in carbohydrates, complicating recovery and leading to its decline to under 10% of chemical pulping. Hybrid methods like chemi-thermomechanical pulping (CTMP) combine mild chemical pretreatment (e.g., ) with mechanical refining, boosting yield to 80-90% while improving strength over pure mechanical pulp for tissue and board grades. Emerging organosolv pulping uses organic solvents like or acetic acid at 160-200°C to fractionate cleanly, enabling lignin valorization for biofuels but limited by high costs and energy demands, with pilot-scale operations as of 2023 showing promise for non-wood fibers. Biological pulping, employing white-rot fungi to enzymatically degrade over 2-4 weeks, reduces refining energy by 30-50% in lab trials but faces issues due to risks.

Paper Formation and Processing

In the paper manufacturing process, formation begins with the delivery of refined pulp , typically at a consistency of 0.5% to 1% solids, to the headbox of a continuous such as the Fourdrinier type. The headbox evenly distributes and accelerates the through a slice or nozzle onto a rapidly moving, endless forming fabric or wire mesh, where initial occurs primarily through gravity drainage as water passes through the mesh pores. This step initiates the random deposition of fibers into a thin, wet web, with formation quality determined by factors like , jet-to-wire speed differential, and fiber , aiming for uniform basis weight distribution to minimize variability often measured at 10-20% standard deviation in commercial grades. is enhanced by hydrodynamic elements including table rolls, foils, and boxes positioned beneath the forming fabric, which generate to increase consistency to approximately 15-20% solids while consolidating the web without excessive fiber alignment. Poor formation, characterized by flocced or uneven fiber distribution, can lead to defects like streaks or weak spots, impacting subsequent printability and strength. Following formation, the wet web transfers from the forming fabric to a press felt via a pickup roll or vacuum-assisted transfer to prevent breakage, entering the press section where mechanical compression in successive removes additional water, raising consistency to 40-50%. Each press applies pressures up to 100-150 kN/m, squeezing the web between rolls while the felt absorbs expressed water, with modern presses achieving higher dryness through extended contact times of 10-20 milliseconds compared to traditional roll . This processing step not only dewaters but also bonds fibers through hydrogen bonding as water is expelled, enhancing sheet density and tensile strength; however, excessive pressure can cause web marking or if are not properly conditioned. Retention aids, such as cationic polymers, are often introduced pre-formation to retain fines and fillers, with first-pass retention rates targeting 80-95% to minimize white water solids and maintain machine efficiency. Post-pressing, the partially dried web proceeds to initial stages, though primary ends with calendering in some setups to impart surface via heated rolls under light pressure, reducing bulk while achieving targeted caliper and gloss. Throughout formation and , process variables like (typically 4.5-7.5 for acidic or neutral systems), (40-50°C), and shear forces are controlled to optimize fiber orientation and sheet properties, with modern machines incorporating online sensors for real-time adjustments to formation index and moisture profiles. These steps, refined since the Fourdrinier machine's commercialization in the early , enable production speeds exceeding 20 m/s for lightweight grades, though challenges like web breaks or uneven drainage persist, often mitigated by modeling in headbox design.

Additives and Finishing

Additives are incorporated into the paper stock during the wet end of to enhance functional, optical, and processing properties. Fillers such as precipitated or kaolin clay, typically comprising 10-30% of the sheet by weight in filled grades, increase opacity and by scattering light within the matrix while reducing through partial fiber replacement. Retention aids, often high-molecular-weight cationic polyacrylamides added at dosages of 0.01-0.5% based on dry furnish, promote of fines and fillers to minimize losses in white water, achieving retention levels of 70-95% in alkaline systems and thereby improving machine efficiency and reducing effluent load. Sizing agents, including (AKD) or alkenyl succinic anhydride (ASA) applied at 0.1-0.5% on pulp, react with hydroxyl groups on fibers to impart water resistance, essential for and writing papers where Cobb values target under 20-50 g/m². Strength enhancers like for dry strength (1-3% addition) or amine-epichlorohydrin polymers for wet strength (0.5-2%) boost tensile and burst indices by forming fiber-bridging networks, with wet strength resins enabling permanent bonds that retain 15-30% of dry strength after saturation. Dyes and fluorescent whitening agents further adjust color and perceived whiteness, though their efficacy depends on fixation via retention systems to avoid migration. Finishing processes occur after sheet formation and initial drying to refine surface characteristics. Calendering compresses the web between heated rolls at pressures of 50-400 kN/m and temperatures up to 150°C, reducing bulk while enhancing and gloss; soft-nip calenders with compliant rolls preserve bulk better than hard-nip supercalenders for tissue or coated grades. applies a layer of pigments (e.g., clay or slurry with binders) via blade, rod, or air-knife methods at coat weights of 5-20 g/m² per side, improving ink receptivity and dimensional stability for high-quality substrates through controlled and . Final steps include slitting, reeling, and sometimes embossing or to prepare reels or sheets for end-use, with these operations directly influencing print uniformity and handleability.

Physical Properties and Types

Key Characteristics and Stability Factors

Paper exhibits a range of physical properties determined by its fibrous structure, primarily composed of . Key characteristics include , or basis weight, typically ranging from 40 to 300 g/ for common grades, which influences handling and print . Thickness, or caliper, measured in micrometers, affects rigidity and is inversely related to , with denser papers offering greater but potentially reduced . Mechanical strengths such as tensile index (force per unit width before breaking) and tear resistance are higher in papers with longer fibers and lower degrees, enabling applications from lightweight tissues to heavy boards. Optical properties encompass brightness (reflectance at 457 nm, often 80-95% for printing papers), opacity (ability to hide underlying print, above 90% for opaque grades), and gloss, which enhance readability and aesthetics but vary with fillers like kaolin or calcium carbonate. Porosity and surface smoothness, quantified by air permeability tests, control ink absorption and friction, with smoother surfaces suiting high-resolution printing. Stability factors critically determine paper's longevity, particularly for archival uses. Chemical composition plays a primary role: high acidity (pH below 7) accelerates of chains, leading to embrittlement, while residual promotes oxidative yellowing under exposure. Acid-free papers, with 7.5-9.5 and alkaline reserves like , resist degradation for centuries, unlike acidic variants that deteriorate in 20-50 years. Environmental influences include relative (ideal 40-50%), where fluctuations cause dimensional changes via swelling or shrinkage, exacerbating cockling or warping; moisture's effect on tensile strength surpasses that of . , especially UV, induces , while pollutants like catalyze oxidation. agents improve dimensional stability by reducing moisture uptake, and orientation during formation minimizes in expansion.

Classification Systems

Paper classification systems primarily rely on metrics such as (grams per square meter, ), basis weight (pounds per ream in the United States), end-use categories, fiber furnish (e.g., mechanical or chemical pulp content), and surface treatments like . These systems facilitate in , trading, and application, with international efforts coordinated through bodies like ISO/TC 6, which develops for paper, board, and pulps. The ISO 4046 series, particularly Part 4, defines vocabulary for paper and board grades, including terms for converted products, but does not prescribe rigid hierarchies; instead, it supports consistent nomenclature across languages and regions. In practice, trade and industry use hybrid systems combining physical properties with functional intent, as outlined in guidelines like TAPPI TIP 0404-36, which identifies grades by final use, pulp furnish, or production method, encompassing over 95% of global paper tonnage across 12 major categories. Grammage serves as a foundational quantitative classifier, delineating paper from board and influencing strength, opacity, and suitability for processes like or folding. Internationally, is preferred for its metric uniformity, while U.S. systems specify basis weight by parent sheet size (e.g., 17x22 inches for ). Common thresholds include:
CategoryGrammage Range ()Typical Uses
Tissue<40Hygiene products, filters
Paper40-120Writing, , newsprint
Paperboard120-200Lightweight , folding cartons
Board>200Heavy structural , cores
These ranges correlate with and fiber alignment from the forming process, where lower yields higher opacity needs via fillers, while higher prioritizes tensile strength from longer fibers. End-use classification groups papers by functional demands, such as graphic (e.g., uncoated freesheet at 48-90 for office documents, requiring high brightness and smoothness), packaging (e.g., kraft at 50-134 for bags, emphasizing tensile index >50 Nm/g), and tissue (15-75 for absorbency in towels). Subcategories include containerboard (corrugated medium and linerboard for shipping boxes), boxboard (coated recycled for consumer cartons), and specialty grades (e.g., with embedded features). Newsprint, a mechanical pulp grade at 40-50 , exemplifies low-cost paper with 70-80% groundwood furnish for high yield but yellowing over time. Furnish and processing further refine classifications: chemical pulps (e.g., kraft, <10% mechanical fibers) for premium grades versus mechanical (e.g., groundwood) for economical ones; virgin versus recycled content, with recovered paper graded by cleanliness (e.g., old corrugated containers at 80%+ recycling rates); and coatings (e.g., light-weight coated at 70 for magazines, enhancing print gloss via pigments). Regional variations exist, such as bleached board (>200 ) for food cartons in versus unbleached kraft in , driven by fiber availability and regulations. These systems evolve with market demands, prioritizing metrics like stiffness (for ) or permanence (acid-free for archives).

Specialty and Engineered Papers

Specialty papers constitute a diverse category of paper products engineered for targeted applications, incorporating specialized techniques, additives, or substrates to achieve properties such as enhanced wet strength, precise , stability, or chemical resistance, which standard commodity papers lack. These papers number approximately 2,900 distinct types globally, segmented by end-use into areas like , electrical insulation, , and , often produced in smaller volumes with higher customization than mass-market grades. The global market for specialty papers reached 28.2 million tonnes in 2025, driven by demand in flexible and industrial , with projections to expand to 31.3 million tonnes by 2030 at a reflecting in sustainable and functional variants. Filtration papers exemplify engineered functionality through controlled structure and pore size distribution, enabling selective particle retention while maintaining flow; grades feature high purity and uniform ash content for analytical accuracy, whereas automotive filter papers withstand high temperatures and mechanical stress in oil or air systems. and filter papers prioritize wet strength and biodegradability, often derived from unbleached pulp to minimize environmental impact during disposal. Photographic papers, conversely, employ multi-layer coatings of or synthetic polymers to optimize ink absorption, color gamut, and archival stability, with glossy or matte finishes tailored for inkjet or traditional printing processes. Security papers integrate covert and overt anti-counterfeiting elements, such as embedded threads, watermarks formed during pulp molding, or fluorescent s visible under UV , ensuring verifiability in banknotes, passports, and legal documents; these features derive from precise control over fiber alignment and additive dispersion during sheet formation. Other variants include papers sensitized with heat-reactive dyes for non-impact on receipts, exhibiting scuff resistance and image permanence under specified storage conditions, and greaseproof papers treated with fluorochemicals or mechanical refining to repel oils in food wrapping applications. Engineered papers extend specialty attributes through advanced modifications, such as incorporation of synthetic fibers or to impart conductivity, antimicrobial activity, or barrier properties for emerging uses in , biomedical devices, and smart packaging; for instance, conductive variants embed carbon nanotubes or metallic particles to enable flexible sensors, while wet-strength formulations using resins maintain integrity in high-humidity environments like battery separators. These innovations prioritize performance metrics like tensile strength exceeding 50 N/m and tailored opacity, often validated through standardized tests for durability and functionality in niche industrial contexts. Production emphasizes in coating uniformity and calendering to achieve consistent properties, distinguishing them from conventional papers in both cost and application specificity.

Applications

Informational and Printing Uses

Paper has been the predominant medium for recording and disseminating written information since its invention in China around 105 AD, facilitating the storage of knowledge in scrolls and later codices before the advent of mechanical printing. The development of movable-type printing by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century exponentially increased paper's role in mass-producing books, newspapers, and documents, enabling widespread literacy and education. This informational function persists today, with paper providing a durable, tangible substrate for text and images that resists obsolescence from power failures or software changes, unlike digital formats. Key types of paper for and informational uses include newsprint, a low-cost, absorbent grade made primarily from mechanical pulp for newspapers and flyers; uncoated wood-free (UWF) paper, produced from chemical pulp for books, office , and forms due to its smooth writing surface and opacity; and coated papers, such as gloss or matte varieties, for magazines, catalogs, and brochures to enhance adhesion and color vibrancy. , typically 20-24 lb weight, dominates office printing for its versatility in laser and inkjet devices, while specialty grades like archival rag paper ensure long-term document preservation with high content for acid-free stability. These distinctions arise from pulp composition, additives like fillers for brightness, and finishing processes that optimize holdout and dimensional stability. Global consumption of and writing papers reflects their enduring demand, with the market valued at approximately $45.6 billion in 2024 and projected to reach $98.7 billion by 2033 at a 5.9% CAGR, driven by in developing regions despite digital alternatives. , -writing papers accounted for 12% of total paper and capacity in 2024, underscoring a stable but diminished share amid electronic substitution for transactional . Empirical studies show paper-based reading yields superior comprehension and retention—up to 20-30% higher in narrative tasks—due to tactile cues and reduced from screen glare, with readers spending more time engaged and reporting better recall of spatial information. Despite declines in newsprint usage—falling over 50% in many markets since 2000 due to news—paper remains essential for legal contracts, educational textbooks, and high-value publications where authenticity and permanence outweigh digital convenience, as evidenced by persistent sales exceeding 2.5 billion units annually worldwide. Innovations like security papers for and documents incorporate watermarks and fibers for resistance, maintaining paper's role in verifiable information storage.

Packaging and Structural Roles

Paper serves as a primary material in packaging due to its lightweight nature, printability, and ability to form protective barriers against moisture, impact, and contamination when appropriately treated. Corrugated board, composed of a fluted middle layer sandwiched between two linerboards, dominates shipping and transport packaging, providing compressive strength for stacking loads up to several tons per container in logistics applications. In 2018, corrugated boxes accounted for the largest volume of recycled paper and paperboard in municipal solid waste, totaling approximately 32.1 million tons in the United States, reflecting their ubiquity in e-commerce and retail distribution. Folding cartons and paperboard boxes, often made from solid bleached sulfate or recycled fibers, are used for consumer goods packaging such as cereals, , and pharmaceuticals, offering rigidity and aesthetic appeal while enabling efficient material use. The in corrugated materials enhances shock absorption and bending resistance through an arch-like configuration, with flute profiles (e.g., A, B, C, or E ) tailored for specific strength-to-weight ratios; for instance, single-wall C-flute board typically withstands edgewise compression of 20-30 kN/m depending on basis weight. Globally, the paper packaging market reached USD 397.5 billion in 2024, driven by demand for sustainable alternatives to plastics, with comprising over 50% of food and beverage containers in regions emphasizing recyclability. In structural roles, paper derivatives like tubes function as temporary for columns in , having been employed for over 60 years due to their spiral-wound construction providing axial load-bearing capacity exceeding 100 kN for diameters up to 1 meter before concrete pouring. paper panels, formed by expanding glued paper sheets into hexagonal cores, offer high strength-to-weight ratios for load-bearing partitions and flooring in modular buildings, with compressive strengths reaching 1-2 MPa in engineered variants. Papercrete, a composite of shredded paper, , and , exhibits tensile strengths of 0.2-1.0 MPa and is used in non-load-bearing walls for its insulation properties, though its durability limits broader adoption in high-stress applications. These applications leverage paper's fibrous reinforcement for energy-efficient, low-cost structures, but sensitivity necessitates treatments like or to maintain integrity, as relative humidity above 50% can reduce strength by 50% or more.

Industrial and Emerging Applications

Paper serves as a key material in industrial filtration, functioning as a semi-permeable barrier to separate fine solid particles from liquids or gases in processes such as air purification, oil analysis, and . In and settings, filter papers with varying pore sizes enable precise particulate capture, supporting in chemical and pharmaceutical industries. In electrical insulation, specialized papers provide dielectric strength and thermal stability, commonly used in transformers where cellulose-based insulation withstands high voltages and temperatures up to 105°C in oil-immersed systems. Inorganic variants offer enhanced high-temperature resistance for applications in furnaces, boilers, and heat exchangers, with thermal conductivities as low as 0.05 W/m·K. Emerging applications leverage paper's , flexibility, and biodegradability for advanced technologies. Paper-based integrate conductive inks and to create low-cost, disposable devices such as flexible circuits and wearable sensors, with prototypes demonstrating bending radii under 5 mm without performance loss. These systems support sustainable alternatives to silicon-based , reducing material costs by up to 90% in production. Paper-based sensors detect analytes like pathogens, heavy metals, and biomarkers through colorimetric or electrochemical methods, enabling point-of-care diagnostics with detection limits in the nanomolar range. Microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs) facilitate capillary-driven flow for multiplexed assays in disease monitoring and environmental testing, with fabrication costs below $0.01 per device. Such innovations, reviewed as of 2024, prioritize modifications for hydrophobicity and , addressing limitations in while maintaining eco-friendliness over substrates.

Economic Significance

Global Production and Trade

Global production of paper and paperboard exceeded 400 million metric tons annually as of 2023, with estimates indicating sustained demand driving usage toward 476 million tons by 2032. dominated output, producing 134 million metric tons in 2023, accounting for roughly one-third of the world total and more than double the ' volume. This leadership stems from 's expansive manufacturing capacity, low production costs, and integration of recovered fiber, though it has raised concerns over environmental impacts from rapid scaling. Other major producers include the , with capacity at 78.1 million tons in 2024 following a 2% decline from prior years due to mill closures and shifts toward grades; ; ; and emerging players like at approximately 10.8 million tons. Production trends reflect a pivot from newsprint to , with global output rising amid growth, while graphic paper grades contracted.
Top Paper-Producing Countries (2023, million metric tons)
: 134
: ~70 (capacity basis)
: ~25
: ~20
: 10.8
International trade in paper goods reached $295 billion in 2023, down 10.6% from 2022 amid disruptions and fluctuating pulp prices, though packaging segments showed resilience. Leading exporters were ($35.5 billion), the ($28.5 billion), and ($27.6 billion), with the top five nations (including and ) capturing nearly 45% of global shipments. The emerged as the largest importer at $29.7 billion, followed by and , reflecting net trade imbalances where high-consumption markets rely on imports for specialty and recycled grades despite domestic capacity. dynamics are influenced by tariffs, such as U.S.- tensions redirecting flows to , and regional preferences for sustainable sourcing.

Market Dynamics and Employment

The global pulp and paper market reached $344.74 billion in 2024 and is forecasted to expand to $351.69 billion in 2025, driven primarily by demand in and tissue segments amid a decline in traditional papers. applications, fueled by growth and regulatory shifts away from plastics, accounted for over 65% of production in 2023, with paperboard projected to hit $417.31 billion in 2025 at a 4.68% CAGR. Conversely, printing-writing paper capacity in the dropped 6.9% in 2024, reflecting sustained digital substitution effects that have eroded demand since the early . Market prices remained relatively stable through 2024, with spot prices holding steady and futures showing slight declines due to oversupply in certain pulp grades, though a modest 1.7% uptick is anticipated in 2025 influenced by costs, volatility, and transportation expenses. Supply chain disruptions, including those from geopolitical tensions and raw fiber availability, have pressured margins, while demand elasticity varies: benefits from inelastic needs, but graphic papers face elastic contraction from electronic alternatives. Overall, the sector's dynamics hinge on balancing these offsets, with broader paper products revenue climbing from $1,009 billion in 2024 to $1,071.23 billion in 2025 at a 6.2% CAGR, underscoring resilience in non-digital uses. Employment in the global paper and pulp mills stood at approximately 1.595 million in 2024, concentrated in manufacturing hubs like , the (317,000 in paper products), and (175,000 direct jobs). and digitalization have accelerated productivity gains, reducing manual labor needs in pulping and converting processes while shifting roles toward maintenance of AI-driven systems and data analytics, thereby mitigating but not eliminating job losses from capacity cuts in legacy segments. In the , the has aged, with employees 55 and older rising nearly 17% from 2021 to 2023, exacerbating skills gaps amid tech adoption. These trends reflect causal pressures from capital-intensive innovations that prioritize efficiency over headcount, with net stabilizing through growth in but contracting in print-related activities.

Environmental Aspects

Resource Consumption and Emissions

The production of paper, particularly from virgin , requires substantial resources, with approximately 1.5 to 2 metric tons of dry needed per metric ton of paper due to pulp yields of 45-55% in chemical pulping processes. Recycled -based paper reduces this demand significantly, often requiring no primary input. Globally, the pulp and paper sector consumes around 400 million metric tons of annually. Water usage in paper manufacturing averages 10 to 30 cubic meters per metric in modern facilities, though older or less efficient mills can exceed 50 cubic meters; advancements like closed-loop systems have reduced intake by over 50% since the 1990s in many regions. The U.S. industry benchmark stands at about 64 cubic meters per , primarily for pulping, bleaching, and paper formation, with much of the recycled internally. Energy consumption totals 15 to 35 gigajoules per metric ton of paper, including 3 to 6 GJ for alone, with at 300 to 500 kilowatt-hours per ton; the sector accounts for roughly 5% of global industrial use, though improvements have decoupled growth from output increases. from residuals supplies up to 50% of in integrated mills, lowering reliance on fossil fuels. Greenhouse gas emissions from the average 0.6 metric tons of fossil CO₂ per metric ton of paper produced, contributing about 2% of global industrial emissions; total CO₂-equivalent emissions, including and sources, range from 1 to 1.5 metric tons per ton, offset partially by carbon neutrality in sustainable . In the U.S., the sector emitted 34.9 million metric tons of CO₂-equivalent in 2021 from 214 facilities. Air pollutants include sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter, and hazardous air pollutants like from recovery boilers and ; emission rates have declined due to regulatory controls, such as U.S. EPA MACT standards, but mills remain significant sources of reduced sulfur compounds (e.g., 0.5-1 kg per of pulp). effluents contain , adsorbable organic halides from bleaching, and nutrients, though treatment has reduced discharges by 80-90% in compliant facilities since the 1970s. from government agencies like the EPA provide verifiable baselines, though industry reports may emphasize self-regulated reductions without independent audits.

Sustainability Practices and Recycling

The paper industry employs various sustainability practices centered on responsible and operational efficiencies. Fibers are primarily sourced from renewable plantations and managed forests, where harvest rates align with regrowth capacities, enabling continuous supply without net forest loss in regions like . Certifications such as the (FSC) aim to ensure chain-of-custody traceability and adherence to sustainable harvesting standards, though empirical assessments indicate neutral overall effects on metrics, with variations by region and taxa. Mills have reduced usage through closed-loop systems and treatment technologies, with U.S. facilities achieving up to 50% less freshwater intake per ton of product compared to historical benchmarks. Energy practices increasingly incorporate from production residues and recycled materials, contributing to lower dependency. Paper recycling involves collecting post-consumer and mill waste, pulping it to separate fibers, cleaning impurities, and reforming into new sheets, typically blended with virgin pulp to maintain strength. Global recycling rates vary regionally; in the United States, 60-64% of available paper and 69-74% of cardboard were recovered in 2024, reflecting a slight decline from prior years due to reduced exports of recovered fiber. In , the rate reached 75.1% for all paper products in 2024, supported by efficient collection infrastructure. Approximately 80% of U.S. mills incorporate recycled fibers, diverting millions of tons from landfills annually. Recycling yields environmental gains, including energy savings of up to 40-60% compared to virgin production, reduced from avoided landfill , and conservation of resources like 7,000 gallons of per ton recycled. It also mitigates accumulation, as paper constitutes a significant portion of . However, these benefits depend on efficient sorting and transportation . Limitations persist, as recycled fibers shorten and weaken after 6-7 cycles, necessitating ongoing virgin fiber input to sustain and structural . Some recycled paper mills exhibit higher per-ton emissions in effluents or energy use if not optimized, underscoring that requires balancing recycling with responsibly sourced fresh fibers from regrowing forests. Contamination from mixed waste streams further reduces yield, with only viable fibers recoverable, highlighting recycling's role as a complementary, not exclusive, strategy.

Debunking Deforestation Myths and Realities

A prevalent misconception asserts that paper production is a primary driver of global deforestation, with claims often linking it to the destruction of ancient or primary forests. Surveys indicate that 60% of Americans believe U.S. forests are shrinking due to such activities, despite evidence to the contrary. In reality, only about 12-15% of global timber harvest is used for paper, far less than agriculture or fuelwood, which dominate land conversion. In major paper-producing regions like the and , forest cover has remained stable or expanded since the early , with growing stock volumes increasing significantly. U.S. forest land area stabilized around 1920 after historical declines from settlement and , now covering approximately 33% of the land base, while timber volume has tripled since 1953 due to improved management practices. The paper sector sources over 90% of its wood from private, sustainably managed forests in , with 99% certified under programs like the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, which mandate replanting and regeneration. For every tree harvested for , industry practices typically result in multiple seedlings planted, with U.S. paper companies alone planting over 1.7 million trees annually beyond natural regeneration. Globally, much derives from purpose-grown plantations rather than natural stands, reducing pressure on primary s; these fast-growing and plantations supply about 22% of industrial roundwood needs and are increasingly established on degraded or non-forest lands. High recycling rates further mitigate virgin fiber demand: in the U.S., 66.4% of paper was in 2023, up from 36.6% in 2005, equivalent to conserving millions of trees annually. While isolated cases of unsustainable sourcing occur in tropical regions like , where pulp expansion has cleared some natural since 2001, these represent exceptions driven by weak rather than inherent to paper production; FAO data shows net global loss at 10 million hectares yearly, primarily from , not industrial wood. Critics from environmental advocacy groups sometimes amplify deforestation risks from paper to advance anti-consumption agendas, overlooking how the industry's economic incentives—tied to long-term supply—promote , unlike short-term agricultural clearing. Empirical trends confirm that responsible , bolstered by paper demand, has contributed to recovery in temperate zones, with U.S. net primary growth exceeding rates. Assertions of rampant tree "killing" ignore that trees in managed plantations are renewable crops, harvested at maturity to yield far exceeding static preservation.

Technological Advancements

Technological advancements in paper production have focused on enhancing efficiency, quality, and sustainability through automation, digital integration, and novel materials. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) enable real-time process optimization, predictive maintenance, and quality control, reducing downtime and waste in pulp and paper mills. For instance, AI algorithms analyze sensor data to predict equipment failures and adjust parameters like pulp consistency and drying temperatures, improving overall yield by up to 5-10% in some implementations. Automation systems, including robotics for material handling and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), streamline operations from pulping to finishing, ensuring precise control over fiber alignment and sheet formation. Advanced pulping and drying technologies have revolutionized paper quality and resource use. Through-Air-Drying (TAD) processes, adopted since the early 2000s but refined in recent years, produce with enhanced softness, absorbency, and bulk by directing hot air through the wet web, outperforming traditional drying in premium products. Enzymatic treatments decompose more selectively than chemical methods, lowering energy demands in mechanical pulping by 20-30% and facilitating higher recycled content without compromising strength. High-density techniques utilize longer fibers and optimized forming fabrics to create denser, stronger sheets suitable for , reducing material usage per unit. Nanocellulose, derived from wood pulp via mechanical or chemical fibrillation, represents a frontier in paper enhancement, imparting superior tensile strength, barrier properties, and biodegradability. Added at 1-5% loadings, reinforce paper structures, enabling thinner sheets with plastic-like durability for and substrates, while maintaining renewability. Peer-reviewed studies confirm nanocellulose coatings reduce water vapor transmission rates by over 90% compared to uncoated paper, supporting applications in sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based films. These developments, scaled commercially since the , address empirical demands for lightweight, high-performance materials without relying on non-renewable inputs.

Sustainable and Digital Shifts

The paper industry has increasingly adopted sustainable practices to mitigate environmental impacts, including higher rates and the integration of alternative fibers. In the , approximately 46 million tons of paper were recycled in 2024, achieving a recovery rate of 60-64% for paper and 69-74% for , though exports declined, contributing to a slight dip from prior years. Globally, the targets an 85% waste paper rate by 2030, driven by technological advancements in sorting and de-inking processes that enhance fiber reuse efficiency. Innovations in alternative fibers, such as agricultural residues, , and non-wood sources like , are gaining traction to reduce reliance on virgin wood pulp, with startups developing for fiber extraction that lowers water and energy demands compared to traditional pulping. Digitalization has profoundly influenced paper consumption patterns, particularly reducing demand for graphic and -writing papers while spurring growth in . Global output of printing and writing papers has fallen by about 30% since its peak, attributable to the proliferation of digital documents, , and e-books, with newsprint demand declining nearly 50% over the past decade due to online media shifts. , overall paper product consumption dropped 29% from the early 2000s onward, coinciding with widespread adoption that substituted . However, total global paper use has not collapsed; packaging grades, including corrugated board for e-commerce shipments, have expanded, offsetting declines in other segments and stabilizing or increasing overall production in regions with rising online retail. These shifts intersect in hybrid sustainability strategies, where digital tools enable precise in mills, such as AI-optimized pulping to cut emissions, yet persistent needs underscore paper's enduring role amid incomplete digital substitution. surveys indicate resistance to fully paperless systems, citing digital fatigue and concerns, which sustains demand for tangible formats in certain applications. Empirical data from countries show per capita paper use leveling off rather than plummeting, reflecting causal factors like regulatory mandates and e-commerce outweighing pure effects in driving net consumption trends.

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